Storytelling: Brewing up a Community at Windsor and Eton

Invoking the powerful storytelling vernacular, inspired by Windsor and Eton Brewery's head brewer and case protagonist Paddy Johnson's favoured communication approach, this craft beer case study uses three stories to provide a narrative framework. The first tale is a ‘David versus Goliath’ analogy that describes the competitive context of the craft brewing renaissance. It is followed by ‘The merry Windsor wives on Facebook,’ which considers the important social media role played by non-executive family members. The case concludes with ‘We are what you are not’, which reflects on brand differentiation inversion approaches employed by entrepreneurial firms, such as Windsor and Eton Brewery, with modest marketing budgets. The case invites students to consider how to evolve the Windsor and Eton brand story once the start-up halo wanes.